AUGUSTA -- Amalia McConnell lifted a tire onto her personal tire changing machine in the Bangor Street garage she owns with her husband and clamped down the rim.

She removed the air valve then brushed lubricant on the tire bead to help pry it over the edge of the rim. Tire bead is a term used to describe the edge of a tire that sits on the rim.

With the help of a mechanical arm, McConnell put pressure on the tire to expose the bead. Working a leverage bar between the tire and the rim, a little at a time, she was able to "break the bead" and pry it over the edge of the rim.

McConnell then flipped the tire over and repeated the process before popping the tire off the rim.

"The tire comes right off," McConnell said, picking up the tire and carrying it over to the balancing machine. "That's a dismount, one two three."

McConnell works beside her husband, Mac, at MacTire Auto Center Inc. She is in the process of getting licensed by the state so she can inspect vehicles.

"She's for real," Mac McConnell said of his wife. "A lot of guys come in here and say, 'Who's going to do my tires?' And I say, 'She is.' And you should see the look on their faces.

"She's the boss. If a vehicle comes in, she'll jump on the car and tear the tires right off it."

Amalia McConnell said she loves the work, especially being with her husband, a veteran who served in the Marines for 26 years and was away a lot, she said.

She said she usually is decked out in a MacTire T-shirt when she works in the garage. The oil and grime doesn't phase her, but she said she is particular about her fingernails.

Changing tires and working with tools can do a number on nails.

"I wash my hands before I leave here and try to clean my nails, to be on the girlie side," she said.

"I go to Regal Nail. They know me over there."

McConnell, 45, and her husband, Mac, 49, started repairing automobiles four years ago at their Richmond home before moving their business into an old carriage house in Randolph. The number of customers they had kept growing, so they started looking for an even bigger location.

In 2007, they were driving by the former Stan's Service Station at 79 Bangor St. in Augusta. The garage, erected in 1933, gave them more room and better exposure.

She said the tin building was "rough" inside, but they installed new paneling and a ceiling and painted without disturbing the nostalgia of the old tin garage.

Few people remember when the station first opened it was a Flying A, he said.

"There's a lot of history here," he said. "There's a certain awe that draws you in. You're looking at a traditional service station that used to do everything. Our goal was to provide full service like they had in the '50s, '60s and '70s. You don't see that anymore."

Originally from Kennebunk, Mac McConnell worked at a dealership as a full-service technician right out of high school. He joined the Marines as a heavy-vehicle maintenance technician and met his wife when he was stationed in the Philippines.

McConnell said he came back to Maine in 2000 on assignment with the corps, responsible for the service's reserve force in the state. He retired as a first sergeant in 2004 and decided to settle in Maine.

"I've always wanted to open a small service station ever since I was a small kid," he said. "I used to hang around them with my bike and had a great time."

Phil Theberge, a inspection technician at the garage, said the McConnells go above and beyond for their customers.

"They don't turn anyone away," Theberge said. "Someone will come in at five minutes to five and they'll stay open. I'll leave here at five and they'll still be here until 9 o'clock. They treat their customers right."

The McConnells said their motto for how they treat their customers is, "Your safety is our No. 1 priority."

If not for the loyalty of their clients, she said their business wouldn't be doing as well as it is today.

"I can't emphasize enough that we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for our customers," Amalia McConnell said.

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com